Dear Kayla,
I have lost 30 pounds and gained it all back. I want to try OMAD. I’m so “brainwashed” with the internet that says eat low-carb. I like rice and bread and pasta. Every time I put it in my mouth then I feel guilty. Maybe I just need your wisdom and encouragement.
Signed,
Claudett
Dear Claudett,
I’m sorry to hear about your regain. But here’s my first encouragement: it has happened to all of us. It means you’re human. Look on the bright side: you found one way that didn’t work. Learn from this past experience, and then get back up on the horse and try again. I’m cheering you on.
Let’s talk about carbs. I love them. I feel best when I eat lots of them. I tried low carb in my teenage years. I felt lethargic and super restricted. If you take pasta away from me, that’s all I can think about. And I loathed the low-carb substitutes. In a word, I was miserable.
Carbs have been the whipping boy since the early 2000s when Atkins became popular. I used to have the same type of guilty feelings you’re experiencing right now. One thing that helped me to stop feeling guilty was to think back to my childhood. Back in the 90s, fat was the whipping boy. All the diets were talking about how terrible fat was. Back then people felt guilty for eating real butter or eating a ribeye. The “diet” foods were low-fat, but sky-high in carbs. There were experts loudly proclaiming that this was the “right” way to eat. These days, the experts say something different. And with the advent of the Internet, things are much louder and more invasive. There’s so much noise and so much conflicting information, that it can be quite overwhelming.
I, for one, decided to quit listening to the Internet.
Instead, I asked myself, “What do I believe about food?” That led me to look back through history and cultures, and at my own lived experience, both when dieting and when not. At the end of it all, I determined that the best course of action for me was to eat what I liked and not feel guilty about it. I do my best not to eat too much, and more importantly, to be grateful for every bite. In my humble opinion, all this worrying and feeling guilty we do does far more harm than good to our health than a slice of pie ever could.
If you’re still in the low-carb mentality and want to get out of it, here are some things that might help reprogram your brain.
Traditional foods are usually high carb and/or high fat. They’re also delicious. And we’ve been eating them for a really long time.
Consider the following:
- Samosas: Around since the 900s. A deep-fried pastry filled with potatoes. Popular in the Middle East, India, and other parts of Asia.
- Pie: Around since ancient Egypt (thousands of years BC). A pastry filled with either sweet or savory fillings. Popular in every culture.
- Pierogies: Around since at least the 1200s. A boiled or fried dumpling filled with meat, cheese, and/or potatoes. Usually served with sour cream.
You mentioned loving rice and bread and pasta. Let’s get some perspective on that:
- The average Chinese person eats 221 pounds of rice per year. (10 times the amount of the average American.)
- The average Italian eats 50 pounds of pasta per year. (More than twice the amount of the average American.)
- The average citizen of Turkey consumes 440 pounds of bread per year. (22 times the amount of the average American.)
Meanwhile, the obesity rates are all lower in the above countries.
Or consider Jeanne Calment, who lived to be 122 years old. Here is a sampling of her daily activities and approach to food:
- Morning prayer, where she thanked God for her life and the beautiful day.
- Breakfast of coffee with milk and rusks (dry biscuits).
- Dessert with every meal. She preferred fried and spicy foods.
- Fruit salad of bananas and oranges.
- A drink of port wine.
- Post-meal cigarettes.
She estimated that she ate 2.2 pounds of chocolate a week.
Which reminds me, have you ever heard of the French Paradox? That refers to the fact that French food is laden with carbs/sugars and fat, and yet they experience lower rates of coronary heart disease. A big difference is that they eat without worrying about food. They savor the meal.
To be clear, I am not implying that taking up a smoking habit will increase your life span, nor that we should only eat deep-fried, high-carb foods. I am saying that no way of eating is the Holy Grail. The hard truth is, we all end up dying, no matter how strict or lax we are. When I got rid of the notion of certain foods being bad, I found peace with food and I started enjoying life a whole lot more.
I recommend each person experiment and find out what foods make them feel best. If you want to try OMAD, here are two videos I’ve made that you might find useful:
Sincerely,
Kayla Cox